There is interest in and a need for an ashless additive in middle distillate fuels such as diesel fuel, including heating oil. Previously, middle distillate fuel compositions often contained ash-producing metals, such as manganese or iron to obtain good soot reduction upon combustion. Recently, the move to ashless technology is being driven by the introduction of highly efficient burner technology coupled with new boiler hardware that is based on a condenser design, whereby condensed water goes into the public water system. The industry has decided that the use of metallic combustion improvers, such as those based on iron or manganese, are no longer required in the highly efficient modern burners. However, fuel compositions without ash-producing metals have not demonstrated completely acceptable performance. The industry has recently experienced operational difficulties resulting from the production of insoluble sediment in middle distillate fuels, including heating oil.
Thus, a need exists for an additive for middle distillate fuels, particularly for home heating oils, such as biodiesel fuel, for example diesel fuels containing 10% fuel derived from biological sources (also known as “biodiesel 10” or “B10”), that effectively reduces sediment formation in fuel compositions and improves heating power in home heating applications.